With hundreds of student organizations at the University of Notre Dame that offer service opportunities, it is no great challenge for students to find ways to become involved in the community. For local middle school students, however, service projects to better their own schools and neighborhoods are not as plentiful. Enter Lead-ND, a student organization that works with local youth to teach them the importance of service in their own backyards.

Lead-ND, a network of student volunteers at Notre Dame, recently participated in community service projects with middle school students throughout the city of South Bend.

The student-run organization aims to place traditionally under-resourced youth in a positive environment where they will be encouraged to evaluate community needs and implement change through service projects.

Fifty South Bend middle school students and 30 Notre Dame students contributed to National Youth Service Day last month, beginning with a pep rally at Legends and then participation in a variety of projects throughout the city, including painting a mural at the West Side Democratic Club, serving meals at the Center for the Homeless, making cards and fleece blankets for pediatric patients at Memorial Hospital, and picking up trash at Potawatomi Park and the Nuner Elementary 91��Ƶ playground.

“We share the responsibility of the community with these students,” said Notre Dame senior John Wanek, president of Lead-ND. “Our goal is to empower them to make change within their community because a lot of times they are cast aside as being too young to help. We believe in these students, the program and the betterment of the community.”

This year, the group also has attended Notre Dame women’s basketball games, taken a tour of the football stadium, visited a nursing home and area food banks, and participated in painting and clean-up projects at Jefferson Intermediate 91��Ƶ.

More information about Lead-ND is available on the Web at .

Contact: John Wanek, Lead-ND president, jwanek@nd.edu

“The Road to Fondwa,” a documentary film that chronicles the stories of Haitian citizens and their engagement with the country’s quest for development, will be screened April 16 at the University of Notre Dame.

The film, which was directed by Justin Brandon, a 2004 Notre Dame graduate and South Bend native, will be shown at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. in the Montgomery Theater of Notre Dame’s LaFortune Student Center. The event is free and open to the public.

The screening celebrates the culmination of a two-year journey undertaken by two 2005 Notre Dame graduates, Dan Scnorr and Brian McElroy, who set out to create a film that captures the struggles and joys of rural Haiti. Schnorr and McElroy were inspired to create the film while living as volunteers at the University of Fondwa in Haiti for a year following their graduation. Brandon became involved in the project as a cameraman and shot the film in Haiti for five weeks the following summer.

Screenings at Notre Dame and Saint Mary’s College will kick off the film’s national university and festival screening tour.

“We are thrilled to be returning to South Bend to screen ‘The Road to Fondwa,’” said Brandon. “This project would never have been possible without the incredible support of the entire South Bend community, and we are looking forward to launching our university and film festival tour at the place where it all began.”

The presentation of “The Road to Fondwa” is sponsored by Notre Dame’s Haiti Working Group, Mendoza College of Business, College of Science and 17 other departments.
For more information, to view the film trailer or to purchase a DVD, visit the official “Road to Fondwa” Web site at http://fondwa.org.

Contact: Katie Smith, “Road to Fondwa” screening coordinator, Katie.Smith.nd@gmail.com

The University of Notre Dame will host “The Church in Asia,” a symposium to explore the past, present and future of Catholicism in Asia on March 31 (Tuesday) in the University’s Hesburgh Center for International 91��Ƶ.

The symposium, the first in a series of three, will feature presentations by scholars who will focus on the Church in Japan, China and South Korea.

The event will open at 9 a.m. in the auditorium with a lecture titled “The Church in Japan: An Intercultural Narrative” by Kevin Doak, professor and chair of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Georgetown University.

Other scheduled talks are:

• “The Remarkable History of the Catholic Church in Korea: From Its Founding in 1784 to the Present Day,” 10:45 a.m., Don Baker, associate professor of Korean history and religion, University of British Columbia
• “China’s Catholics: Adaptation, Struggle and Hope,” 2 p.m., Richard Madsen, professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego

The symposium will conclude with a roundtable discussion moderated by Robert Gimello, a faculty member in Notre Dame’s Departments of Theology and East Asian Languages and Cultures.

“The Church in Asia, Part I” is co-sponsored by Notre Dame’s Center for Asian 91��Ƶ, Kellogg Institute for International 91��Ƶ, Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts and Department of Theology.

More information is available on the Web at
http://kellogg.nd.edu.

Contact: Howard Goldblatt, director of the Center for Asian 91��Ƶ, Howard.Goldblatt.1@nd.edu

The University of Notre Dame Chamber Players will host a concert Wednesday (March 4) to support the South Bend Community 91��Ƶ Corporation in an effort to raise money to provide local young musicians with new instruments.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Leighton Concert Hall of Notre Dame’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $10 for the general public, $8 for faculty and staff, $5 for seniors and $3 for all students. All proceeds of the concert will be donated to purchase musical instruments for South Bend public schools.

To reserve or order tickets, call the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center box office at 574-631-2800 or visit http://performingarts.nd.edu on the Web.

The concert will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer and child prodigy Felix Mendelssohn and will feature Notre Dame music faculty members Karen Buranskas, cello; Carolyn Plummer, violin; and John Blacklow, piano. The program will include works by Mozart, Shostakovich and Mendelssohn.

We love music, we love teaching music, and public school programs are the way students start out,” Buranskas said. “I started my career in public schools. I never would have been a musician had I not had that opportunity.”

“It is an outstanding community contribution by Notre Dame’s Music Department to be concerned with the students in our fine arts program,” said Candace Butler, program coordinator for Clay High 91��Ƶ, South Bend’s visual and performing arts magnet school. “Many of our students coming through the program cannot afford their own instruments. Putting good instruments in the hands of beginners is a good way to prompt a lasting interest.”

The Notre Dame Chamber Players was formed in 2003 with a mission to perform great chamber works for the Notre Dame and South Bend communities. With the assistance of guest artists, the Chamber Players have included a wide range of chamber compositions by composers of the Classical, Romantic and 20th century in their concerts.

Contact: Noelle Elliott, Department of Music, 574-631-2325, nelliot2@nd.edu

The Gender Relations Center (GRC) at the University of Notre Dame has created the Violence Prevention Initiative (VPI) to provide educational and preventative programs that will galvanize students to work toward stopping violence.

The goals for the VPI are to raise awareness about violence in the local community, increase understanding about global violence, promote the healing of survivors of violence, raise funds for local non-profit agencies invested in violence prevention and service to survivors and serve as a flagship for violence prevention at other Catholic colleges and universities.

The VPI’s most prominent component will be Sexual Assault Awareness Week (SAAW) from Feb. 22 to March 1, which will include the following events:

• Feb. 22 to March 1:“Giving a Voice”poster campaign, featuring GRC peer educators
• Feb. 23: Notre Dame Take Back The Night, which includes a prayer service at 7 p.m. in the Log Chapel, march and Speak Out bonfire at 8 p.m. at Holy Cross Hill
• Feb. 24 to 26: Resource tables in North and South dining halls and LaFortune Student Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Feb. 25: Committee on Sexual Assault Prevention (CSAP) student forum at 7 p.m. in the Reckers Hospitality Room
• Feb. 27:“A Time to Heal”dinner with speakers from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at Legends; RSVP by Feb. 23 to grc@nd.edu or 574-631-9340
• March 1: SAAW Sunday, featuring petitions, ribbons and prayer cards at campus Masses

SAAW is co-sponsored by the GRC, CSAP, student government, Men Against Violence, Feminist Voice, SOS of Madison Center and Identity Project of Notre Dame.

The VPI will sponsor a writing workshop March 21, an experiential learning retreat March 28, South Bend Take Back the Night April 23 and a festival on South Quad April 24.

_ Contact: Elizabeth Moriarty, Gender Relations Center, 574-631-9340,_ " emoriar3@nd.edu ":mailto:emoriar3@nd.edu __

TopicID: 31567

Notre Dame Review, a leading literary magazine produced by the University of Notre Dame’s Creative Writing Program, has released an anthology of poetry and fiction from the publication’s first 10 years in print.

“Notre Dame Review: The First Ten Years,”published by Notre Dame Press, includes work by well-known authors, as well as new and emerging writers.Poets Seamus Heaney, Paul Muldoon and Czeslaw Milosz and fiction writers Marilyn Krysl, Arturo Vivante, Frances Sherwood, R.D. Skillings and Richard Elman are featured, along with several winners of the Ernest Sandeen Prize in Poetry and the Richard Sullivan Prize in Short Fiction, both administered by the Creative Writing Program.

The anthology is composed of a collection of poems and stories that challenge, surprise, comfort, discomfort and delight readers through a wide range of styles and aesthetic orientations.

“The First Ten Years”was edited with an introduction by John Matthias, professor emeritus of English at Notre Dame, and William O’Rourke, professor of English at the University.

The Notre Dame Review is an independent, non-commercial magazine of contemporary American and international fiction, poetry, criticism and art.Poetry and fiction from the publication have appeared in"Best American Short Stories,""Best American Poetry,"the"Pushcart Prize"volumes and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications.

A component of Notre Dame’s Department of English, the Creative Writing Program is a two-year master of fine arts program centered on workshops in poetry and fiction and offers courses in literature, translation, literary publishing and thesis preparation.The highly selective program admits just 10 writers each year.

More information about"The First Ten Years"is available on the Web at .

TopicID: 31548

The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Film, Television and Theatre (FTT) will present Yiannis Lymtsioulis’"Guernica" from Feb. 24 to 28 (Tuesday to Saturday) at 7:30 p.m., and March 1 (Sunday) at 2:30 p.m., in the Philbin Studio Theatre of the University’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Admission is $15 for the general public; $12 for faculty, staff and seniors; and $10 for students.Ticket information is available at the performing arts center box office or by calling 574-631-2800 or at on the Web.

Directed by FTT Professor Anton Juan,"Guernica"is inspired by the true story of a tragedy that took place in 1997 when an Albanian ship carrying refugees suspiciously sunk off the Italian coast.Lymtsioulis explores the frustrated ambitions of three unquiet souls desperately floating amidst a watery medium of detritus.In the dark world lying somewhere between life and death, these psychic survivors contemplate the residues of their lost existence and mourn dreams that will go unrealized. Lyrical, yet direct,"Guernica"paints a surrealist portrait of the lamentable unrest faced by those who die wrongly at the hands of others.

Additional information is available at on the Web.

_ Contact: Christine Sopczynski, FTT, 574-631-0457,_ " csopczyn@nd.edu ":mailto:csopczyn@nd.edu

TopicID: 31366

The University of Notre Dame will present a film series titled"Films and Faith"from Feb. 6 to 8 (Friday to Sunday) in the Browning Cinema of the University’s DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

The series features films by contemporary Catholic filmmakers from Mexico and is sponsored by the performing arts center, Notre Dame’s Department of Theology, Department of Film, Television, and Theatre; and Institute for Latino 91��Ƶ.

Admission ranges from $3 to $6 and tickets are available in advance at the center box office or by calling 574-631-2800 or visiting on the Web.

Featured films are:
Feb. 6, 6:30 p.m. ñ"Children of Men"(2006) by Alfonso Cuaron
Feb. 6, 9:30 p.m . ñ"Pan’s Labyrinth"(2006) by Guillermo Del Toro
Feb. 7, 6:30 p.m. and Feb. 8, 3 p.m. ñ"Silent Light"(2008) by Carlos Reygadas
Feb. 7, 9:30 p.m. ñ"Babel"(2006) by Alejandro Gonz·lez IÒ·rritu

More information about all films is available by visiting the DeBartolo Center Web site.

_ Contact: Christine Sopczynski, outreach specialist, FTT, 574-631-0457,_ " csopczyn@nd.edu ":mailto:csopczyn@nd.edu

p.

TopicID: 31327

The most recent volume in the University of Notre Dame’s Devers series in Dante studies has been placed on Choice Magazine’s highly regarded list of Outstanding Academic Titles for 2008.This is the third time the series has been honored by Choice.

“The Ancient Flame: Dante and the Poets,”the ninth volume in the series, was authored by Winthrop Wetherbee of Cornell University, and edited by Christian Moevs, associate professor of Romance languages and literatures and fellow of Notre Dame’s Medieval Institute, and Theodore Cachey, professor of Romance languages and literatures.

The selective Choice list reviews approximately 7,000 works each calendar year and places 10 percent on its Outstanding Academic Title list, which"brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community."

The Devers Program in Dante 91��Ƶ at Notre Dame promotes teaching and research about Dante across the College of Arts and Letters curriculum along with its sponsorship of the Devers Series in Dante 91��Ƶ, which is published by the Notre Dame Press.

_ Contact: Theodore Cachey,_ " tcachey@nd.edu ":mailto:tcachey@nd.edu , or Christian Moevs, " Christian.Moevs.1@nd.edu ":mailto:Christian.Moevs.1@nd.edu

TopicID: 31266

John Wilkinson, professor of literature and creative writing at the University of Notre Dame, has published a new book,“Down to Earth,”released this fall by Salt Publishing, an international award-winning publisher of poetry, fiction and literary criticism.

Through one single thematically-interrelated poem, Wilkinson addresses the disturbing state of the American Midwest and paints a bleak picture of the 21st century due to an epic of migration, the now ubiquitous borders, and the current energy crisis.The flows of capital, consumer products, waste, labor and body parts are the focus of what has been called"Wilkinson’s darkest work to date,"according to Salt Publishing.

Salt’s description of the book also states:“Like every book by John Wilkinson, ‘Down to Earth’ knows no limit to poetry’s ambition, dodging every border post, down every highway, like the ocelot running through its narratives, and struggling to create a sheltering place in often pitiless landscapes.”

A British poet who has followed careers in both mental health and English literature, Wilkinson was named a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar at the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in 2003 and a Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2007.That same year, Wilkinson released his book of essays,“The Lyric Touch: Essays on the Poetry of Excess.”His current research interests include New York 91��Ƶ poets and associated visual artists, 20th century and contemporary British poetry and theories and politics of risk.

_ Contact: Marie Blakey, director of communications, College of Arts and Letters, 574-631-1405,_ " m.blakey@nd.edu ":mailto:m.blakey@nd.edu

TopicID: 31246

The University of Notre Dame will present its 20th annual Student Film Festival from Jan. 22 to 24 (Thursday to Saturday) at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. each evening in the Browning Cinema of the DeBartolo Center for the Performing Arts.

Admission is $6 for the general public, $5 for faculty and staff and $3 for students.Tickets are available by calling 574-631-2800 or visiting on the Web.

The approximately 110-minute presentation will exhibit 14 short films made as class projects during the past year by students studying the art of filmmaking in advanced, intermediate and introductory film and video production courses taught in the Department of Film, Television and Theatre (FTT).All films are shot on location, most in the South Bend area, and feature the acting talents of local residents, as well as Notre Dame students and faculty.

This year’s featured films include:

• “Dana,”the story of a Native American student at Notre Dame who struggles adjusting to college life away from her Navajo reservation, by Benford Begay and Macarena Ivanissevich;
• “The Deily Work,”which documents the spiritual rituals of an Opus Dei member, from the Windmoor House in South Bend to the Vatican in Rome, by Eric Sales and Julian Owyong;
• “Deaners,”by Brittany Lash and Jenni Fong, suggests that Fairmount, Ind., is the perfect place to live for a James Dean fan;
• “Our Lady’s Bouncers,”a real depiction of the difficulty Notre Dame students encounter when trying to drive their cars on campus, by Danielle Sclafani, Christina Marzo and Katie Dare;
• “Believe in You,”a music video by the John Conroy Band, by Mark Weber and Ian Cooney;
• “Blocked,”a stylish illustration of the relationship between a writer and a romantic interest, by Ryan Geldermann and Mark Lyons;
• “The Birthday Wish,”which addresses two interlocking themes: birthdays and wishes, by Daniel Clark and Elise Yahner;
• “7 Minutes in Hell,”by Kate Leszkowicz and Terrail Lambert, confirms that harmless fun can quickly turn into trouble;
• “Javier Ramos 6/18,”a film for everyone who has ever felt trapped on a seemingly endless phone call, by Matthew Degnan;
• “Cirrhosis with Coda,”an experiment in film poetry in which a female tells of her past in verse and concludes,“I am just an indentured servant to madmen,”by Ashley Ahn Williams and Benford Begay;
• “Prologue,”a numbing story about a teenage boy who reconstructs the events of the night his best friend was raped, by Joe Piarulli and Dan Milan;
• “Reveries of Desire,”which follows a paper pusher’s efforts to save the girl-next-desk from his evil boss, by John Meehan, Becky Katricak and Rob Doone;
• “The Dinner Guest,”an elegant period piece about a close knit family that prepares for the arrival of their mother’s suitor, by Joe Gleason;
• “Confessions,”by Krissy Estrada and Luke Tabit, which illustrates that confessions are meant to be private.
  More information about the event is available on the Web at .

_ Contact: Ted Mandell, FTT, 574-631-6953,_ " tmandell@nd.edu ":mailto:tmandell@nd.edu

TopicID: 31106

The University of Notre Dame’s Gender Relations Center will present a panel discussion,“Pornucopia: Living in a Pornified Culture,”at 7 p.m. Thursday (Jan. 22) in the auditorium of the Hesburgh Center for International 91��Ƶ. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation will include an overview of the history of pornography in America and an examination of the moral and legal responses to obscenity and pornography. The panel also will provide information on the moral tools and resources available for individuals to help build a society that honors the dignity of each member as one of God’s creations.

Panelists, whose expertise in gender relations, sexuality, law, ethics and religion will provide a variety of perspectives regarding the $92 billion pornography industry, are Gail Bederman, associate professor of history, Notre Dame; Rick Garnett, professor of law, Notre Dame; Christina Traina, visiting associate professor of gender studies, Notre Dame; Rev. Nate Wills, C.S.C., associate pastor, St. Joseph Catholic Church, South Bend; and Brian Vassel, master of divinity student, Notre Dame.

The program also is sponsored by Notre Dame’s Gender 91��Ƶ Program, Center for Ethics and Culture, Department of Physical Education and Wellness Instruction, Department of Philosophy, Office of Campus Ministry, and the Identity Project of Notre Dame.

_ Contact: Elizabeth Moriarty, assistant director, Gender Relations Center,_ " emoriar3@nd.edu ":mailto:emoriar3@nd.edu ; or Patrick Tighe, student assistant, Gender Relations Center, " ptighe@nd.edu ":mailto:ptighe@nd.edu __

TopicID: 31107